Turkish Fairy Tales: Ankara Promises Syrian Militants Jobs In Qatar Before Sending Them To Libya – SOHR

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Turkey had sent a new batch of Syrian militants to Libya after promising them security jobs in Qatar, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on August 13.

The new batch consisted of more than 120 militants from the Suleyman Shah Division, the Sham Legion and the Sultan Murad Division. The three factions are a part of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.

“At first, this batch was agreed with that they [the militants] will be transferred to Turkey and from there to Qatar to protect government institutions there, but after their arrival on Turkish territory, they were told that your destination is Libya, not Qatar,” the SOHR’s report reads.

Turkey has been deploying Syrian militants in Libya in order to support the Government of National Accord (GNA) since last year. The GNA is also receiving support from Qatar.

According to the SOHR, more than 17,420 Syrian militants, including 350 minors, have been deployed in Libya, thus far. At least 6,000 of them returned to Syria in the last few months after fulfilling their contracts.

The deployment of Syrian militants allowed GNA forces to make significant achievements in west and northwest Libya. The militants, however, suffered from more than 400 casualties within a few months.

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